Nurse educators' perceptions of critical thinking in developing countries: Ghana as a case study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Professional Development

Background:

• Critical thinking is vital for nurses in complex healthcare.
• Nurse educators' perceptions impact teaching critical thinking strategies.
• Assessing these perceptions is crucial for curriculum development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate nursing faculty's perceptions of critical thinking.
• To identify potential gaps in understanding critical thinking among educators.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire was administered to 106 nurse educators from two program types.
• Data collected between November 2013 and March 2014.
• Analysis involved frequencies, percentages, and t-tests.

Main Results:

• 95.3% of educators could not fully define critical thinking (affective & cognitive aspects).
• Most educators held positive perceptions of critical thinking.
• University educators showed more positive perceptions than college educators (P=0.007).

Conclusions:

• Current nursing programs may not equip nurses with adequate critical thinking skills.
• Professional development is needed for nurse educators to enhance critical thinking instruction.
• Improved teaching strategies are necessary to foster critical thinking in nursing students.